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MARTIN, Tenn. –

Jasmine Newsome drained a floater in the middle of the lane with two seconds remaining on the clock to give UT Martin an 80-78 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the Elam Center in Martin, Tenn.

The Panthers (9-10, 5-4 OVC) led by as much as 15 (69-54) with 10:05 remaining in the game only to see the Skyhawks (12-8, 7-2 OVC) fight back. EIU led by six (78-72) on a Jordyne Crunk made basket with 3:17 left in the game before UT Martin scored six consecutive points and tied the game at 78 on an Alecia Weatherly basket with 17 seconds on the clock. After Newsome hit the eventual game-winner, the Panthers in bounded the ball to Ta'Kenya Nixon who threw up half-court shot that fell short as EIU dropped its third-straight Ohio Valley game.

EIU took an early 11-3 lead to open the first half before UT Martin scored nine straight points, taking a 12-11 advantage at the 12:41 mark. On the next Panther possession, Kelsey Wyss drained a three-pointer to spark a 15-3 EIU run, giving the Panthers a 26-15 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.

The Panthers led by as much as 11 (41-30) with 1:30 left in the half before the Skyhawks closed the first stanza on a 6-0 run, making the score 41-35 in favor of EIU at intermission.

Nixon paced the Panthers with 21 points while Mariah King added 18. Wyss netted 17 points, connecting on a career-best five three pointers (5-for-9).

Nixon grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists. Three Panthers in King, Sydney Mitchell and Wyss pulled down six rebounds.

Both teams shot well in the contest as they both shot 50 percent from the floor. EIU connected on 43.8 percent of its shots from behind the arc (7-for-16).

Newsome led all scorers with a career-high 35 points. Heather Butler added 20 points for UT Martin.

EIU scored 40 points in the paint in addition to scoring 25 points off of 17 Skyhawk turnovers. The Panthers recorded 11 steals in the contest.

The Panthers return to the friendly confines of Lantz Arena for their next four games with the first contest against Tennessee Tech on Thursday, Jan. 27. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.